Students compete for a prize at ‘Super Smash Brothers’ competition

More than a dozen students competed in the “Super Smash Brothers” video game tournament held in the USU Games Room last night.

More than a dozen people initially signed up, but more names were added as more people, mostly males, arrived. While up to four people can play the game, for the tournament it was played two at a time on the Nintendo Wii.

“People all over campus come to play and (encourage) all their friends to come and join them,” said Allie Mangel, game room attendant. She continued by saying that the prize for first place is a $25 gift card and they note who wins each round.

“Super Smash Brothers” is a game that can be played on most Nintendo game consoles, with 35 well-known favorite video game characters, like Mario, Link, Donkey Kong or Jigglypuff.

“Some of the players tonight brought their own (Wii) remotes, but we do provide them for the tournament,” Mangel said.

Though the room was filled with competitors, there was still a sense of camaraderie. Contenders cheered each other on even while their eyes were glued to the television.

Rachel Bergman, freshman biochemistry major, came to the tournament for the first time to check out the scene. Bergman, an avid video game fan, not a competitor, said she’s a fan of playing video games both in a group and solo.

“I first played the game three years ago. I had a Wii. I mainly played competitively with my friends, but nothing on this scale. I wouldn’t mind [to compete in the tournament], but I haven’t played this in years,” Bergman said.

Though “Super Smash Brothers” appears to be a simple game, it requires the technique to win. Most of the players there were experts at the game and have been playing for years.

Ashley Morejon, freshman Sociology major, stopped by the Games Room to see what was going on and decided to pause and watch the tournament for a bit.

“I didn’t know there was a tournament hosted for this video game. I’ve been playing the game for years because of how fun and entertaining it is. I would totally join next time they have it.”

The next “Super Smash Brothers” video game tournament will be held in the Games Room on Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. To join the competition, you can register online through the USU’s website.